Abel & Cole has announced plans to donate 1.43 million portions of fruit & vegetables to food banks this year.
The move forms part of its new One Box: One Portion initiative, which will see one piece of fruit or veg donated for every Fruit & Vegetable Box (rsp: £12.50-£27.50) sold.
It follows research by the organic home delivery pioneer, which found that almost half of adult men and children, and a third of women, were keen to help their local communities.
Altogether three charities: DONS Local Action Group, The Felix Project and School Food Matters will be supported by the scheme.
“The pandemic has changed the way we look at life and has increased the desire to help others,” said Abel & Cole MD Hannah Shipton.
“We wanted to find a way to help people help others as part of their day-to-day lives.”
School Food Matters founder and CEO Stephanie Slater said: “Our focus is to tackle health inequalities – to make sure that families receive food that will support good health and encourage their children to eat more fruit & veg.
“This is important as government figures show that only 12% of 11 to 18-year-olds consume five portions of fruit & veg a day, as recommended, while for adults that figure is 33%. The financial impact of covid will have made veg even less affordable for many. This makes Abel & Cole’s contribution to this important work around food insecurity that much more impactful.”
Craig Wellstead, co-founder of DONS Local Action Group, added: “The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization recommend that each adult consumes 400g of fruit & vegetables as a daily minimum, yet households around or below the ‘breadline’, simply are not getting enough.
“We are currently receiving over 50 new referrals from those in need every month, so this initiative from Abel & Cole will allow us to meet the ever-increasing demand.”